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from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can EditThe slap-shot is a very important part of any hockey game. If you do not know how to do it correctly, it will not have the desired effect (and it can be quite embarrassing when you wiff on the puck completely). This is a guide to help you improve on your slap-shot, or begin to learn how to do one.

Steps

Understand how a slapshot
works. The hockey stick is aggressively slapped (almost as hard as you
can) and bent on the ice, building tension that is then released against
the puck in the direction of the intended target. Even though this
technique can generate a puck speed of over 100mph, its not as accurate or
as convenient as other shots.

Learn when to take a
slap-shot. Its tempting to wind up on the one-timer heading for you when
youre right at the top of those hash marks, but try to restrain yourself.
The vast majority of the time, something much more simple will work
better. Slap-shots should be used primarily by a defenseman when in his
position near the blue line. This allows for a tip by a forward standing
in front of the net.

Point your feet towards the
puck, which should be about 3 feet from your skates. Do not point your
skates at your target (which is the net, hopefully); this is a huge
mistake made by beginners. Later on, if youre short on time during a play,
or cannot position yourself correctly for the shot, you can take a shot
with your feet a little crooked.

Glance at the net. You
probably wont have much time to get your puck off if you spend too much
time aiming at this point. A simple glance will do for now to get the
general direction of where you want to shoot.

Get the proper grip. If youre
right-handed, you should be holding your stick with your left hand at the
top. Your right hand should be lower than where you would normally carry
it when stick-handling or skating. Make sure your hands are shoulder
length apart on the stick, as the stick reaches its highest point your
hands will separate a little more and move down the shaft, and as you
finish the shot, your hand should end up somewhere near shoulder length
apart. (NOTE: A majority of left handed hockey players shoot on the left
making these instructions completely backwards. Your right hand would be
on the top of the stick because you would use your dominant hand for best
control)

Wind up. Dont do this to an
extreme; pulling back way above your head doesnt add power and sacrifices
time and accuracy drastically. Pulling the stick back to your waist should
be sufficient. You should be looking down at the puck at this point so you
dont miss it. Especially as a beginner, while trying to learn the overall
movement, during the windup dont bring the blade of your stick any higher
than your waist. Once you have a reasonable shot, you can increase your
windup. With good mechanics it is possible to unlease a very powerful
slapshot with little windup.

Take another look at the goal
and aim as you wind up. If youre going for a goal, you should aim for a
particular spot on the net, not just the net itself. If youre taking a
shot hoping a teammate will tip it (this is recommended over an actual
shot for a goal), keep your eyes on the ice and on your teammates stick
side.

Make contact with the ice
inches before you hit the puck. Many mistakenly hit only the puck,
thinking the ice will slow their shot. If performed correctly, however,
hitting the ice with your stick moments before contact with the puck will
cause your stick to "flex" and shoot the puck off like an arrow
from a bowstring.

During contact with the puck,
roll your wrists so that the thumb on your dominant hand (right hand if
right-handed, left hand if left-handed) turns down towards the ice. This
adds accuracy to your shot.

Follow through with your shot
to where youre aiming. After initial contact, follow through completely in
the direction you want the puck to go. This makes for a more accurate
shot, and it also helps keep your puck stable in the air. Your shoulders
should finish facing the net, your hips should twist towards the direction
of the shot, and your front foot should turn towards the direction of the
shot. After following through, your stick and body should be pointing
(gliding) towards the direction of your shot.

Tips

Where the blade of your stick
finishes is where your shot will end up. If your blade is high off the
ground, your shot should end up high; low - low.

Take slow shots when starting
out. Dont worry about power; instead practice location of the shots, and
the location of the puck on your stick. Once you become comfortable, you
can begin speeding up the motion of your swing, and the speed of the shot
will follow.

Bend your knees -- this is
vital as it increases the momentum of your body by using the muscles in
your legs.

Keep practicing. Reading about
slapshots on the Internet all day isnt going to help your shot as much as
practicing will! Make sure to notice any mistakes youre making and
consciously think about correcting them when practicing.

The distance between where
you hit the ice to flex the stick and where the puck is vary from person
to person. If your having a hard time getting the puck in the air, hit the
ice further back.

In your slap shot, you hit
the ice before the puck. Follow through with your shot pointing with the
end of your stick to where you want the puck to go. The more force you put
onto your stick the more accurate your shot should be.

Roll your wrists during your
shot, this is where most of your accuracy comes from in addition to
pointing to where you want the puck to go. Even if you point your stick,
the puck will never go where you want it to if you dont roll your wrists
during your contact with the puck.

Always wear a cup

Warnings

Keep your head up! This is
always true in hockey, when you could get run over any minute by a huge
body check, but it is especially important when you are trying to take a
shot. It is always better to get the shot off and take the hit for your
team.

Make sure teammates know youre
shooting and are ready. Players can often get confused and end up facing
the wrong direction and get a puck to the back of the leg where there is
no protection. This leaves at best a nasty bruise and a limp for a while.
Opposing players should be facing you and if they get hit by a puck, well,
too bad. They know what theyre in for and should know not to be facing the
wrong way from a puck.

The impact of hitting the
ice/ground repetitively can cause injury, such as bursitis, especially if
you are using a very stiff stick. Experiment with different flexibility
ratings on composite sticks.